Forgive the lateness of this update! Long story short, I've been without Wifi or reliable data signal for the past week and still do not have that access at my house restored yet (I'm posting this from another location). Hopefully I will get access back soon, but in the meantime I will continue to update twice weekly if I can!

This chapter's song is New Beginnings by Neffex.

Chapter 11 - New Beginnings

June 23rd, 1902

Edith stepped down from the train, taking in the new sights around her. Descending behind her, Thomas almost tripped but caught himself at the last minute; his lack of depth perception meant he was still getting used to successfully navigating stairs. After collecting their luggage and summoning an attendant to pile their belongings on a rolling cart, they made their way through the crowd to where the cabs sat waiting for passengers, Rochester bounding at their heels.

Once they were seated in the carriage, their luggage had been loaded, and the driver had been instructed to take them to a modest hotel, Edith gave a pleased sigh and glanced at her husband. Thomas's eye was bright with wonder as he stared around at the fresh grandeur of their new city, and Edith turned her head to take it in as well. In some ways it looked much like London or another large English city, but in many other regards it was completely different. The cadence of unfamiliar accents surrounded them, a mild winter breeze ruffled the leaves of strange trees, and the city itself seemed to vibrate with life, with optimism and newness.

Edith turned her gaze back to Thomas as he took her hand; he was positively beaming, and she found herself mirroring his expression. "I can't believe we're here at last!" he burst out.

"We made it!" Edith echoed, her husband's enthusiasm infectious. "Our new home!"

Thomas drew their heads together and they shared an ardent kiss, regardless of the impropriety of doing such a thing in an open carriage.

"You two must be newlyweds!" their cab driver interrupted their embrace, a chuckle in his voice.

"Yes, not quite a year married," Edith replied, blushing a little.

"Ah, I thought so!" the man replied, knowingly. "I can always spot them! The young and in love, coming to Australia to find their fortunes. There's plenty of opportunity to be had here, if you've the mind and skill for it. I can tell you're taken with the city already, and I do hope you'll be happy here, sir, ma'am! Welcome to Sydney!"

Their decision to move to Australia had been a surprisingly easy one. True to her word, Edith had created a list of possible destinations for them, and they'd gone over the options together. She'd added Sydney to the very bottom of the list as an improbable choice after she'd read an article in the paper about the recently booming Australian metropolis; when Thomas came to the final possibility, his face lit up and he'd exclaimed, "Edith! I think this may be it!"

And so, it was.

Their journey to Sydney from Cumberland had been a long and, at times, arduous one. From Keswick they'd taken trains to London, where they'd purchased their tickets for the Australian voyage leaving the next week. Their steamship departed from England on schedule, and the couple spent the next thirty-eight days at sea (with delightful one-day stops in Egypt, Aden, and Ceylon along the way). The vessel had taken them to Port Adelaide, where they'd spent the next few days taking a series of trains to their final destination.

It was now over two months since they'd left Allerdale behind for good. Edith was weary from the long weeks of travel, but as she gazed around their new city she felt a fresh wave of exhilaration sweep over her. This city would be so good for Thomas, she could tell! Everywhere she looked there were buildings under construction, electric cables being installed, machines being built. This was what Thomas needed, what they both needed! A fresh start, a place where Thomas would be free to explore his passion for inventing, a land where they could meet new people who would judge them solely on their characters and not on the Sharpe family legacy.

Before they'd left England, Thomas had offered to legally change both of their last names to Cushing. Edith had been deeply touched, but declined. "I've grown rather fond of being Edith Sharpe, actually," she'd said. "I'm yours, Thomas, and I don't care if the world knows it! Besides, this is our chance to redeem the Sharpe name. No one will associate us with Allerdale Hall in Sydney, and we'll have the chance to alter the Sharpe reputation for the better."

Edith's train of thought was interrupted by the cab coming to a halt. "Here we are, sir, ma'am!" the driver said cheerily, "The Arcadia Hotel!"

Thomas, who hadn't stopped grinning the entire ride, made his way down and turned to help Edith descend. "I can't wait to get to our room!" he whispered buoyantly.

Shooting a sideways glance at the driver, who appeared not to have heard him, Edith smirked back. "Me either!"

June 24th - July 11th, 1902

The next few weeks were busy for Thomas and Edith as they made preparations to begin their new Australian lives. Thomas visited the local bank to set up an account and transfer his and Edith's combined funds from the Sharpe account in England; thanks to the wonders of modern wire money transfers, they had full access to their assets within several days.

Once their finances were available, Thomas and Edith toured homes for sale in the area and fell in love with one in the suburb of Burwood. It was a solidly middle class home, with four bedrooms, living and dining rooms, a kitchen, library, and a verandah wrapping around two sides of the house overlooking their own garden. Best of all, Thomas was proud to be able to purchase it solely with the funds he'd received from the sale of Allerdale Hall and the clay mine, and not dip into Edith's inheritance at all.

Once the purchase of the home was finalized, they hired a workman to help move the belongings they'd brought with them from England to their new home. Thomas swept Edith into his arms and carried her across the threshold, experiencing an odd sensation of deja vu; the last time he'd done this had been at Allerdale Hall, when they'd been married in name only and there were still so many lies between them. Now they'd left all of that behind, and he hoped to share this home with Edith for many years to come as husband and wife in every way that mattered.

The home was unfurnished, as of yet; they'd purchased furniture for the house last week, but it wouldn't be delivered until the next day. After their crates and trunks were all inside and they were alone at last, Edith turned to Thomas, bouncing on her feet in excitement. "Here we are, Thomas, in our very own home! Oh Thomas, this is what I've been looking forward to for so long…a place just for us!" Then, with a sly smile, she continued, "I really wish we didn't have to wait until tomorrow for the bed to be delivered…."

Thomas gave her a devilish grin back, her enthusiasm catching. "I don't think we'll need one - do you?"

Cornering Edith against the wall, Thomas lowered his head to hers and kissed her passionately. He felt Edith's hands slide under his shirt, and he started peeling her out of the many maddening layers that women wore.

Thomas soon proved that his recently healed shoulder was strong enough now to hold his wife's entire weight up for prolonged periods of time.

July 18th, 1902

Thomas slowly looked around as he took in his new workshop, which he'd set up in one of the downstairs bedrooms. The familiar tools, mechanical toys, blueprints, and half-finished projects from his old workshop in Allerdale Hall looked out of place in this new room; the dreary old nursery there had always been his refuge, the one place Lucille had no interest in visiting him. He'd fled there time and again after each fresh horror had unfolded, flinging himself madly into inventing in an attempt to forget. Would he ever be able to use this new room without those memories haunting him as he worked?

Thomas was shaken from his maudlin thoughts by the opening of the door, and Edith breezed in with a smile. "Oh Thomas, it looks wonderful!" she exclaimed, running her hands over the machinery and turning to face him. "I can't wait to see what you create here!"

Edith's exuberance suddenly allowed Thomas to view the area from her perspective. The room really was totally different from his previous workspace; sunlight streamed in the open windows, through which he could glimpse their garden with its unfamiliar shrubbery, and the white painted walls reflected the light back to create a bright, cheery space. As his gaze fell upon abandoned projects he hadn't worked on in months or years, he was struck with inspiration instead of anxiety.

"Are you ready to leave?" Edith continued, seemingly oblivious to his mood. In the week since they'd moved into the new house, she'd created a list of items they still needed to purchase; it was a surprisingly extensive list, consisting of kitchen utensils and pots, towels and bedsheets, curtains and rugs, and various other home necessities. They'd planned to visit as many merchants as they could today to hopefully obtain all they currently lacked.

"Of course," Thomas replied, offering his elbow for Edith to take. "Shall we?"

They spent a busy morning visiting shops and making purchases; Thomas hadn't known there were so many varieties of home goods to choose from, and became exasperated more than once as Edith vacillated between different colors and styles. "It doesn't actually matter, does it?" he'd asked once, and received a playful glare from Edith in return.

"It matters to me!" she retorted. "This is the first time I've been able to purchase things for my own house, and I'd like everything to match!"

After an exhausting morning, Thomas finally pulled Edith into a cafe for a midday meal. After a delightful lunch, Edith consulted her list. "We've made good progress so far! Let's see, we still need to visit the textile shop. I believe it's just a couple blocks away."

"Certainly, my lady," Thomas returned, sighing good-naturedly. "Lead the way."

As they walked, however, Thomas came to an abrupt halt as he caught sight of the sign above a doorway they were passing: "Travis & Son Jewelers, est. 1892."

"What's wrong?" Edith exclaimed, surprised at their sudden stop.

"Edith," Thomas said earnestly, "let's go in here. I want to get you a new wedding ring, a real wedding ring."

"I'd love that!"

The owner, Mr. Travis, showed them to the ladies' rings when Thomas explained what they were looking for. There was a nice selection on display, and the jeweler eagerly informed them that he made custom rings as well.

Thomas deferred to Edith as they perused the rings. "I want you to choose something you love, Edith. I know little about jewelry, and, well - my last selection didn't turn out too well, did it?"

A minute later, Edith gave a little "oh!" of admiration. Thomas turned to look at the piece she was examining - it was a gold ring, set with a larger central yellow stone surrounded by a circular ring of dark red ones to create a floral effect. The result was striking, and Thomas knew immediately that it was perfect for Edith.

"I love this one!" she burst out. "I didn't even realize stones could be yellow!"

"Ah, yes," Mr. Travis hurried over and pulled the ring out from the case. "A genuine yellow sapphire, that! An unusual choice, ma'am, but I think it suits you."

"Yellow is my favorite color," Edith smiled, holding up the ring to admire it. "What are these other stones?"

"Garnets, ma'am."

"Aren't garnets your birthstone, Thomas?" Edith queried. Thomas nodded his assent, and she beamed. Handing him the ring, she asked, "What do you think?"

"It's lovely," he murmured. "May I?"

Edith held out her left hand, and Thomas slipped the ring onto her finger. It was a perfect fit.

Unexpectedly overcome with emotion, Thomas felt tears spring to his eye. How he wished this had been the ring he'd placed on Edith's finger on their wedding day! They'd been married quickly, only a week after his proposal on the night of her father's death. It had been a courthouse wedding, but Edith had looked radiant in the yellow gown she loved so much. They'd shared a brief kiss that day, and had left the next on the ship bound for England - the voyage to their doom. Oh, what he wouldn't give to turn back time and do it all right from the beginning!

Looking up at Edith, Thomas found her staring back with an intense expression and knew she must be experiencing some of the same emotions. However, her face soon softened and she gave a gentle smile. "It's in the past, Thomas. This is real, this is now."

"Yes," Thomas whispered, reminding himself. "This is real." Turning to Mr. Travis, he spoke definitively, "This is the one. How much?"

To his relief, Thomas found that the ring wasn't as expensive as he'd feared - he had just enough of his own money left from the sale of Allerdale Hall to cover the cost. He certainly didn't want to use Edith's finances to buy her own wedding ring! As he wrote out the check, Edith's voice drifted to him from the opposite side of the small shop. "Thomas, come look at these!"

Jumping at the opportunity to make another sale, Mr. Travis made his way over to Edith, Thomas trailing behind; Edith stood before a sign reading "Wedding Rings for Men," a small display case in front of it. "Do you like these, ma'am? It's quite a modern concept, a man wearing a wedding ring as well as the lady, but some couples find the idea attractive." Turning to address Thomas, the jeweler asked, "Would that be something you'd be interested in, sir?"

"Yes, absolutely!" Thomas blurted. Catching himself, he stammered, "That is - that is, if you'd want me to have one, Edith."

"I would if you'd want to, Thomas," Edith smiled.

"I want the world to know I belong to you," Thomas responded earnestly. "In fact -" he broke off and wrenched the Sharpe signet ring off his right hand and held it out to the jeweler. "You buy jewelry as well as sell it, I'd imagine? How much is this worth? I'd very much like to exchange this ring for a wedding ring of my own! And pay any difference, of course," he added at Mr. Travis's cautious expression.

The jeweler's face brightened. "I'd be happy to take a look at that, sir, and tell you what I can offer! Why don't you see if you can find a ring to suit your fancy?"

"Are you certain you want to sell your family ring?" Edith said in an undertone as he joined her at the display case. "I've never seen you without it."

"Positively," Thomas replied with conviction. "It's been passed down from father to son in my family for generations, the symbol of Sharpe aristocracy. I'm not a baronet any longer, and I couldn't care less about the vaunted Sharpe name." Taking Edith's left hand adorned with her new ring, Thomas brought it to his lips with a kiss. "The only thing I want to be known for from now on is being your husband."

Edith returned a watery smile, and Thomas felt his heart skip at the look of adoration on her face. Would he ever get used to that?

"Well then, husband, let's get you a ring!"